Full-fat milk may not pose health risks; new studies show the type of dairy is more important than fat content

A rainbow of cap-colors indicating varied milk-fat content is
available at U.S. grocery stores. (Photo by Bobbi Lin, NYT)

Experts have touted the health benefits of low-fat dairy products for decades -- they had all the nutrition without the saturated fats most people should avoid. However, new studies suggest this advice may need to be revised. "That guidance goes back to 1980, when the first edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans was published, according to Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, a cardiologist and professor of medicine at Tufts University," reports Alice Callahan of The New York Times. "And since then, most studies on the health effects of dairy fat have failed to find any benefits of prioritizing low-fat versions over whole, Mozaffarian said, noting that what seems to be more important than the level of fat is which dairy product you choose in the first place."

Longitudinal studies show that dairy consumption has health benefits, and choosing higher-fat dairy products is not harmful. "In one study published in 2018, researchers followed 136,000 adults from 21 countries for nine years," Callahan reports. "They found that, during the study period, those who consumed two or more servings of dairy per day were 22 percent less likely to develop cardiovascular disease and 17 percent less likely to die than those who consumed no dairy at all. Notably, those who consumed higher levels of saturated fat from dairy were not more likely to develop heart disease or die."

Harder cheese may be healthier to eat than softer
offerings. (Harvard Health blog photo)

While these studies are not clinical trials, "shorter-term trials have shown that consuming dairy products, including full-fat dairy, lowered the blood pressure of participants and did not increase weight or raise levels of LDL, or 'bad cholesterol' — again suggesting that dairy fat is not harmful to heart health," Callahan explains. Marie-Caroline Michalski, a research director at the French National Research Institute, noted that yogurt and cheese "appear to be most associated with health benefits. . . . harder cheeses like Cheddar and Parmesan also seem to result in a more gradual absorption of fats into the blood than softer cheeses and butter, which can help you feel fuller longer."

The new Dietary Guidelines for Americans will be out in 2025. In September, Roberta Wagner, senior vice president for regulatory and scientific affairs with the International Dairy Foods Association, "provided oral testimony to the 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee — a panel of 20 nutrition and public health experts tasked with providing a scientific report to inform the federal government's next update to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans," the IDFA's website says. Wagner's testimony "stressed that 90 percent of Americans do not consume enough dairy to meet dietary recommendations, according to the 2020-2025 DGA report. Wagner urged the committee to maintain nutrient-rich dairy foods as a central part of a healthy diet, and she stressed that new science shows that limiting dairy based on fat level — as current guidelines recommend—does not lead to better health outcomes."